The Washington critic., 1887-01-24
TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Iuary viii be found an interesting con-
a iributlon by William L. Curtis on "a
Day with the President" from which
is taken the following glimpse of a
Cabinet meeting; The regular Cabinet
meetings are held at noon on Tuesdays
and Thursdays of each week, In the
long, narrow room in which Lincoln
and Grant and dozen Of their prede.
cessors directed the affairs of the
nation. The old table around which
the ministers sit, II II could talk, would
tell stories that have no place In his.
tory. for the most interesting events
that occur in its presence never reach
the public ear. This historical room is
always open to visitors when the Cab
met is not in session, and many tourists
inspect 1t every day. The interior is
plainly furnished, the walls are painted
n drab tint and the ceiling Is fres.
coed with group of cherubs climbing
among clusters of gay flowers. The
mantel Is simple affair of cinnamon
colored marble, and fire of hickory
logs is usually blazing cheerfully on the
hearth in winter. time. On the walls
hang portraits of John Hampden, by
Vandy Ike, and ofW Washington, by Cadena,
q South American artist, which was
presented to the Government In
the time of Hayes, and bird s eye
view of the city. Maps of
the Continents hang from patent
rack, and in one corner is large globe
which affords the Cabinet an oppor.
tunity to study geography In the inter.
walls of their discussions. In another
corner is a revolving book case, con.
tanning set of the Revised Statutes
and the last reports of the Executive
Departments. Near the entrance
to the library is an old ia lhioned
secretary, where Colonel Lamont
sits when he is called into
the conference. The members of
the Cabinet sit around the table in
large arm. chairs upholstered in leather,
the President at one end, with his back
to the window, and the Secretary of the
Interior at the other AT the Presi.
dents right is the Secretary Of State,
at his left the Secretary of the
Treasury then the Secretary of War
and the Postmaster. General on one
side, with the Secretary of the Navy
and the Attorney. General opposite
them. No records of the Cabinet
meetings are kept, beyond an occa.
slonal memorandum made by the men,
bers to remind them of matters to be
attended to, and the sessions are
not at all formal, being often
varied by storytelling, the At.
torney. General usually having a
yarn to relate. Each member brings a
large, fashioned portfolio, and
some of these ha been In use for
century. They contain documents to
be submitted, and commissions for the
Presidents signature. When he signs
them they are sent to the Executive
clerk TO be recorded and are then for.
warded, with blank oath of office, to
those who have been so fortunate as to
draw prizes in the official lottery Be-
ginning with the Secretary of State,
and following the order of official
precedence, each member submits such
matters as he desires, and they are in
formally discussed. No vote is ever
taken, but each expresses any views he
may have on the subjects under con.
sideration Memoranda from one are
often submitted to another for eXami-
nation and review, and legal questions
are referred TO the Attorney. General
for an opinion. All the proceedings
are supposed to be confidential; but the
newspaper correspondents are usually
able, by means of their own, TO ascer.
tain what has been under consideration
and how it was disposed of.
~
The presence of Mrs. August Bel,
mont of New York at the state dinner
given by the President on Thursday
evening has given rise to pleasant
little piece of gossip. 1t is said by a
New York Suns correspondent that
Mrs, Cleveland had expressed wish
to meet Mrs. Belmont, having heard SO
much of her graceful dignity of car
Iiagc and wonderfully preserved
charms of personal appearance, and
also because she believed Mrs. Bel.
mont and herself were In some remote
way related. 1t is added that when
the two ladies met In friendly CONVEX
saton after the dinner, they discovered
that this surmise was correct, Mrs,
Cleveland being distant relative of
Commodore Oliver Perry of historic
fame.
When John V. Farwell and a prom.
inent foundryman met to square ac-
counts for the iron in the dry goods
merchants big building on Monroe
street, says the Chicago Ne,cs, q dis
pute arose as to the contract price of
the iron. The foundryman held that
the pr.ce agreed upon was 81 cents
per pound, while the merchant claimed
that the contract was made on the
basis of 3t cents per pound. The diff.
- ference was about $4,000. The foun.
dryman, despairing of convincing the
merchant Of his error, suggested that
the dispute and all memoranda bear.
ing ON the question be submitted to q
third party for final decision. "But," "
said Farwell. 'I'm afraid that III. man
YOU would name would be dis
tasteful to me- Il think not" re.
piled the foundryman; "he is man
whom you know very we'll" "Who
is he?" Charley Farwell." John V.
looked up in surprise, The proposition
TO submit to n member of his own
house q dispute involving $4,000,
which, If decided against him, would
prove equally disastrous to the referee,
was so bold and fair that the old mer.
chant could do nothing else but accept
1t. The foundryman presented his
memoranda to Charley, who. after a
searching investigation, decided against
his brother, his firm and himself.
Ever since that time Charley has been
something of an enigma TO John V.
~
In one of Cons" bright and chatty
letters in the Omaha Bee of recent date
the writer snYs: mThn Whiln House